


Hearing You Out

by SkiesTheKye



Category: GOT7
Genre: Choi Youngjae acts like a mother, Choi Youngjae is a little shit, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam & Jackson Wang Friendship, M/M, Mark Tuan & Choi Youngjae friendship, Speech coach Park Jinyoung| Jr., Stuttering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-01 04:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 11,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10914342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkiesTheKye/pseuds/SkiesTheKye
Summary: Mark is used to silence, he prefers it. But things always change. When the most talkative person that Mark has ever meet wants to be his friend, Mark's silent world will never be the same.





	1. Preface

There are two people in this world; those who socialize and those who don't. For Mark, he's a third option; those who can't. He was unable to communicate with words easily. No, he wasn't mute in any sense of the word, but he had a terrible speech impediment. His mother was confident that it would go away with age, thinking that it was something that most kids had trouble with, yet here he was a senior in high school still struggling with simple conversations. He had given up on doing a lot during his life because of this. He didn't have a job, he didn't go to dances, he didn't go to parties, he didn't hang out with a lot of people and he certainly didn't make many friends. But it wasn't like he tried to be friends with people. Mark honestly didn't like the idea of having to explain why he couldn't speak like normal and no one stayed long enough to listen anyway. But he was perfectly fine with that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know very well how the wrote out the stuttering will get very annoying, but I feel if I just wrote out that Mark stutters, no one would be able to picture what it sounds like, soo that's why I wrote it all out. Just for future reference and whatever.

"Morning Yi-En. Did you sleep good?" Mark's mother asked as he entered the kitchen.

"M-M-Morning. Y-Y-Yes I did." He always made an effort to talk to his mom even if he didn't want too.

"Are you hungry? I can make you something before school." Mark shook his head, picking up an apple from the fruit basket sitting on the counter. He shook it in his mom's direction before taking a small bite from it.

"N-N-No, It-t-t's fine. I'll b-b-be late if I d-d-don't g-g-go now." His mother smiled slightly.

"That's right. You still have to meet up with Youngjae, don't you? Alright, go on. Don't keep him waiting." Mark nodded at her, smiling. His mother was very fond of Youngjae. Even though he was two years younger than Mark, Youngjae was the only person that stuck around, not minding that Mark's speech was slow and broken. His mother had been so proud when Mark brought him over for the first time and introduced Youngjae as his friend. He made the weight on her shoulders lessen, but she wouldn't tell Mark that.

"B-B-Bye ma. I l-l-love y-y-you." Mark wrapped an arm around her, giving her a quick hug before running out the door.

-

It was cold, like yesterday, and Mark knew he should've brought a jacket but he didn't have time to get his from the laundry. But the tiny breeze didn't bother him much, he really loved the cold, it clamed him. A he walked down he road toward his usual meeting place with Youngjae, he slowly chewed on his apple. He didn't care for Granny Smith apples, but he didn't want to worry his mother that he wasn't eating enough. He quickly rounded the corner at the bottom of the hill and spotted Youngjae instantly. The younger had been hard to miss ever since he dyed his hair blond. Youngjae was the first type of people, which surprised Mark when the younger said he wanted to be friends. "Hey! Mark!" The blonde waved eagerly at his friend. Mark left all his fear at the corner and talked freely to the younger.

"T-T-That's hy-y-yung to y-y-you." Youngjae stuck out his lip in a pout.

"But why? We've know each other long enough to drop the formalities, right? Mark sighed, knowing Youngjae would never use the title. 

"F-F-Fine, but s-t-t-till remember who t-t-the eldest i-i-is." The younger nodded.

"I will."

-

Youngjae didn't stop talking all the way to school. Mark liked that about the blond; it meant he just had to listen and nod along with whatever the younger said. "Oh Mark. I hope you don't mind but I added you into the dance club, we needed another member and I know how good you are." Mark nodded, not paying any attention to Youngjae. "Great! We meet everyday during our free period and on Wednesday after school. Everyone's going to love you." Mark began to slow down when he processed what the younger said.

"W-W-Wait. Jae," The blond looked over at him.

"What?" Mark had never been in a club before, he could barely make it through the school day without panicking and the thought of being surrounded by a group of people who were already uncomfortable with each other made him nauseous.

"Y-Y-You know h-h-how I-I-I feel about-t-t this kind o-o-of st-t-tuff." He smiled at Mark,draping an arm over his shoulders.

"There's nothing to worry about. You don't even have to talk when you're there. Just dance your heart out and show everyone what you got." Mark gulped, thinking about all the things that could go wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

Like most days Mark ignored all the comments from his classmates as he settled into class. Some were good and others were bad, but that didn't matter to Mark. He just wanted to get through the day without incident.

"Did you hear?" A female student asked her friend as she sat into the seat in front of Mark. The other girl shook her head, sitting down next to her. "Mr. Sim is making us work in pairs for the oral report." The second girl gasped, her eyes flicking to Mark for a split second before going back to her friend. "Hopefully were not stuck with Mark. We'd never get a good grade with him around." Mark sighed, leaning back in his chair. He had heard it all before. No one ever wanted to work with him for speaking projects. He was used to it by now. By the time the bell rang all talk about his lack of speech and bad grades had died down. Mark began to space out when Mr. Sim started the lesson. He didn't have to listen to much of this. He knew it was about the report and it didn't matter, his partner could deal with it. They would have to, Mark wasn't going to be able to. He hoped that he would be paired with a nice girl, someone who would love to talk and make everything easy.

"Mark Tuan and Jackson Wang." The room erupted in groans. Apparently everyone Jackson. Mark came back to reality when someone sat down next to him. 

"Hey. I'm Wang Ka Ye. But you can me Jackson. And you're Mark right? I mean, you must be, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting over here." Jackson chuckled nervously. Mark didn't respond. He was taken off guard by the handsome boy sitting next to him. Mark had only seen Jackson once before; it was an accident and he didn't have the chance to say sorry to him before scampering off to the bathroom to finish his half ruined lunch. He really only knew one thing about Jackson.; he was loud. Jackson wasn't the partner that Mark had hoped for but he could get the job done.

"Don't waste your breath Jackson. Mark doesn't talk to people like us. He's really conceited and only thinks of himself." One of the girls sitting in front of the two males spoke up.

"Yeah. Remember when Ji Ha asked him out. He didn't even say anything, he just walked away as if she hadn't even spoken to him." Mark sighed, recalling the event. He hadn't said anything to her because the confession had been out of the blue and he had started to have a panic attack, plus he didn't know how to respond. He didn't really like girls as much as other guys did. Sure, he found them pretty and most of them had great personalities, but he just couldn't see him dating one. And would any girl want to date him if they found out that he had an ugly stutter?

"Oh? I don't think that's true. It's not true, right?" Mark shook his head. He didn't want people to get the wrong impression. He truly wasn't conceited. Mark always thought of others before himself even when he preferred to keep quiet. And he tried to speak up if he needed to without stuttering. It was hard but he had done it before. "See, Mark's not so bad. Maybe he's just shy around girls." The two girls nodded at Jackson.

"That's true. He usually talks to that supposed-to-be sophomore. I've never seen him talk to any girls before." They turned to Mark and stared directly into his eyes. "Isn't that right? That dongsaeng is the only person you can talk to right?" Mark gulped. He wanted answer them properly. He felt that if he didn't the girls would judge him for it. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"His. Name. Is. Jae." He had to break the words apart so the stutter wouldn't be apparent. He hated talking this way, it took way too much time and effort. Mark really liked to stay silent, it made his life easier. Maybe he should have let those girls believe he was conceited.


	4. Chapter 4

When the bell rang Mark instantly grabbed his things and ran from the room. English was the last place he wanted to be, surrounded by people who didn't understand him, people who could talk freely unlike him, and worst of all Jackson. Jackson talked way too much for his liking; asking questions about things that didn't make sense. He quickly walked down the hall, trying to get out of the way of others as fast as he could. "Mark!" His pace slowed as he heard someone call his name. He knew he shouldn't have looked back at the voice, but it was instinct. The person wildly shouting his name was Jackson. Mark inwardly groaned. He didn't want to deal with him anymore today. "Where are you going in such a hurry? It's our free period, we can take a break y'know." Mark shook his head. Even though he wanted to sit in the yard by himself he couldn't let Youngjae down. 

"I. Have. To. Meet. Jae." Jackson frowned slightly at his words.

"Awe man. I've spoken to you for an hour and you've only talked about this Jae guy. Is he really all that?" Mark nodded, continuing his trek to the gym. He wanted to tell Jackson that Youngjae was the only person that has been around the longest. He wanted to tell Jackson that Youngjae didn't find his stutter annoying like everyone else had. He also wanted to tell Jackson that Youngjae was the only person that stayed his friend even though Mark had made it very hard on the younger. "Okay, I see. But Why? You have other friends, right?" Mark slowed down slightly thinking about what he had said. He did have other friends, but they were nothing like Youngjae. He didn't force Mark to talk, he listened when Mark did talk, and he even helped Mark when the stuttering got really bad. He nodded slowly, moving past students to get to the gym doors. He pushed the doors open to reveal his best friend stuffing his face with flaming hot cheetos. 

"Mark!

-

"A-A-Are y-y-you forget-t-tting w-w-who is o-o-older here?" Mark spoke, forgetting that Jackson was standing next to him. Other people didn't matter much to him when Youngjae was around. All of Mark's attention was on Youngjae. 

"Of course not. I didn't think you'd show." Youngjae stood up from the floor, walking toward Mark. He sighed.

"I-I-I could-d-dn't let y-y-you down." Youngjae smiled and slapped Mark on the back.

"Now that's my best friend." Mark smiled slightly.He was glad that he could call Youngjae his friend. He made Mark forget all about everything bad in his life. At least for the moment.

"This is the guy you were talking about? Choi Youngjae?" Jackson's voice made Mark flinch. He had almost forgotten that he was standing there. Almost. 

"Oh. Jackson. Hey." Mark looked over at Youngjae, confused.

"Y-Y-You kn-n-now Jack-k-kson?" The younger nodded.

"I can't believe you're friends with this jerk." Jerk? Mark had never heard the word jerk used when referring to Youngjae. He was one of the nicest people that Mark had meet.

"You can't let that go can you?" Youngjae turned to face Jackson.

"Of course not. She was like a sister to me." Mark looked between the two males. What in the world were they talking about? 

"I didn't know. I didn't know she'd..." Youngjae didn't have to have to finish his sentence. They already knew what the rest could have been. "You don't think it crushed me when I found out?" The youngers voice grew and so did Mark's anxiety. When Youngjae got upset or angry, it was scary. "If I knew that would've happened, I wouldn't of... I would've stopped her. But I couldn't do a damn thing!" Youngjae took a step forward, clenching and unclenching his fingers. Mark became a nervous wreck when Youngjae lost control of his emotions. The stutter got worse and a panic attack would set in. It had always been that way. He needed to stop Youngjae before things got out of hand.

"Y-Y-Youngj-j-jae." His voice was airy, he was already panicking. "P-P-Please s-s-st-t-top-p-p." At that moment Jackson took his time to look around Youngjae to look at Mark. He was breathing heavily, his hands were twitching, and he was overall shaking. Jackson's attention went back to Youngjae for a split second before going back to Mark. Sure he was pissed at what Youngjae, but he worried about what was happening to Mark. "Y-Y-Youngj-j-jae." Mark tried speaking louder to no avail. he couldn't control his breathing at this point. His thoughts were going in several directions. What if Youngjae hurts Jackson? What if they both get hurt? What if he couldn't stop the fight? What if he couldn't call for help? He would just be a bystander again. He would be a weak child again. It would be the bike incident all over again. "C-C-Choi Y-Y-Youngj-j-jae." It finally registered in the blond's ears that Mark was talking to him. He quickly turned to Mark.

"Oh crap. Mark." The younger moved over to Mark's side. He made Mark sit on the ground, while he crouched down beside him. 

"What's wrong with him?" Jackson asked, walking toward the two. Youngjae held up his hand making Jackson stop in his tracks.

"He's having a panic attack." Youngjae grabbed the sides of Mark's face. "Hey, look at me. Just me. No one else. Just me." Mark looked up at the younger. He was still shaking and breathing heavy, but his thought had cleared. He was focused on Youngjae now. Nothing else was happening around him, in his mind. The younger released his face and grabbed Mark's hand. He placed it on his chest where his heart was. "Breathe Mark. You're okay. Everything's okay." Mark listened to the beating of Youngjae's heart under his hand and followed the movement of the younger's chest. His breath slowed to match Youngjae's. The shaking stopped as well and the only sound coming from the gym was were Youngjae's encouraging words. Mark had calmed down enough to thank the other. "Don't. I shouldn't have done that with you around. I know how hard it is on you. Why don't you just go outside and calm down some more. I'll tell the others that we we'll meet later." Mark nodded, standing up. He headed for the yard door without looking back.


	5. Chapter 5

Jackson had many questions for the younger. Youngjae hesitated a bit, wondering what happened to the angry teen from earlier, but agreed soon enough. "What was that about? I mean why'd he freak out so bad?" Youngjae sighed,  moving Mark's things to the side.

"Mark's very dependent on me." Jackson snorted.

"Dependent? On you? I can't believe that." Youngjae rolled his eyes.

"Shut up and listen will ya. Mark depends on me because I'm the closest friend he's ever had. I'm the only that has stuck around through his panic attacks and stubbornness. Not to mention all the times he's pushed me away and all the silence." Jackson narrowed his eyes at the younger.

"But that doesn't explain what just happened." The blond sighed again.

"Mark panics when I get into conflicting situations. He gets it into his mind that he won't be able to help or stop things from escalating because of the stutter." Once he brought up, Jackson focused on the topic. He hadn't paid much attention to it and simply thought Mark was uncomfortable with the situation.

"Stutter?" Youngjae nodded.

"He's had it ever since he could talk. His mom thought it would go away, speech therapists say otherwise. It's the reason he doesn't talk much." So Mark wasn't shy or nervous. He had a concrete reason for not speaking. And Youngjae just made it easier. But there was something else bugging Jackson. 

"Why does he have no problem speaking to you? I mean, he spoke to me but there was no stutter. I guess it was forced, maybe."

"Simple. I don't judge him for it. Many people don't understand that he can't control it. They don't take the time to listen to him and find it annoying. But I never did. I like talking to Mark. He doesn't do it often, but his voice is soft, deep, and comforting even if it breaks and the letters are repeated. It's a part of him. And if I'm being honest I never paid much attention to it to begin with."


	6. Chapter 6

Mark avoided Jackson and Youngjae at lunch. He didn't bother sitting near his best friend and when Jackson asked him to eat with him, Mark ignored him. He decided to sit with some under class man he knew. He took a seat at the end of table near Yugeom, a fairly tall sophomore that could easily pass off as a senior. "What's the matter hyung? Did you have a fight with Youngjae hyung?" Mark shook his head.

"No. It-t-t's n-n-nothing like t-t-that." Yugeom was on Mark's list of understanding people. He was also the second type of people. Yugeom normally kept to himself and would only go out if his brother made him. 

"Well that's good. I heard you're in the dance club now. How'd that happen?" Mark smiled slightly at the younger. He would never be like Youngjae but at least he was easy to talk too.

-

Watching Mark talk with someone else hurt Youngjae more than he liked to admit. He knew Mark was putting his defenses up since the incident in the gym, but he could've at least gave Youngjae some form of acknowledgement before sitting on the other side of the room.

"Y'know staring is a bad habit to have." Youngjae didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"Shut up Jackson." He was beginning to get irritated with the older. He liked it better when Jackson hated him. Youngjae began to feel that Jackson was only warming up to him because he wanted to get closer to Mark. "Why are you here? I thought you hated me." Jackson sighed, sitting down next to the blond.

"I do, but you're the closest person to Mark and I need to know more about him if I'm going to be able to deal with him for our oral report." Youngjae knew it. Jackson just wanted him for Mark. Yet something that Jackson said didn't sit well with him. He turned to glare at the older.

"Okay, there's one thing you need to get straight. You can't deal with Mark. He's hard to understand and even harder to get along with." Jackson nudged the younger with his elbow.

"I was only joking. Actually I want to be his friend." Youngjae sighed, looking back to Mark. He wasn't talking, just listening as usual. He still wasn't comfortable around other people. He had worked hard to become Mark's support and he didn't want to let that go.

"Well I wasn't. Mark is really hard to be around. He doesn't just let anyone in. It takes time and a whole lot of effort. And I don't think you're willing to give that. It took me several years, Jackson." Youngjae glanced back at Jackson. He didn't know how the older would react. He was half hoping that the older would back off, thinking that Mark wasn't worth it just like everyone else had, but on the other hand he wanted Jackson to try. Mark needed more stability in his life and almost believed that Jackson could provide it.

"I'm willing to try."

-

Mark watched Jackson and Youngjae leave the lunch room together. He had thought that the two were at odds with each other over something that Youngjae had done. He wondered what is was about since Youngjae had never mentioned Jackson or the sister-like-friend before. Yet, he was glad the two were working things out. Youngjae needed a friend like that; someone who was social, unlike Mark. Youngjae would've slapped him if he heard Mark's thoughts now. But he couldn't help thinking that Youngjae would be better off without him even though he couldn't picture anyone  else but Youngjae by his side. 

"Mark hyung? Are you okay? You're spacing out again." Yugeom turned to see what Mark was looking at. "Oh I see. Is someone jealous?" Mark rolled his eyes and leaned over the table to flick the younger in the forehead with his finger. 

"Yah! D-D-Don't say st-t-tuff like that. I-I-I want-t-t Y-Y-Youngj-j-jae to be f-f-friends with J-J-Jackson." Yugeom smiled slightly, rubbing his forehead. 

"Then what is it?" Mark shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to talk anymore. The situation was hard enough to explain and he didn't fully understand it. It would take a while to explain it to Yugeom. Something he did not want to do.

"Okay, Okay. I get it. No more questions. Lunch is about over anyways." Yugeom mumbled mostly to himself. He knew how Mark could get when he had to talk to much. The walls went up and silence errupted. The younger pushed his tray over to the girl sitting next to him. "It's your turn Hani." She groaned, but picked up all the trays at the table and went to throw them away. Yugeom turned back to Mark, excitement in his eyes. "Hyung was going to throw a party this weekend. I wanted to know if you'd like to come?" Mark shrugged. He wasn't a fan of parties, for obvious reasons. "He's invited a lot of people. I don't know how he does it." Mark smiled at the younger.

"Y-Y-Your brot-t-ther has a cut-t-te face." Yugeom stuck out his lip in a pout.

"Am I not cute hyung?" Mark shook his head, chuckling.

"T-T-That's not t-t-true. Y-Y-You're cut-t-te. But-t-t K-K-Kunpimook h-h-has you beat." The younger sighed, shaking his head. 

"You're not the only one. But you will come right? You can even bring Youngjae." The younger was really trying to get Mark to go to this party that his brother was throwing. BamBam had worked hard to plan and it would be cool if a few seniors showed up.

"I-I-I'll think about-t-t it-t-t." Yugeom silently cheered while Mark died on the inside.


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay tell me about Mark." It was now sixth hour, study hall and the two males were sitting in the farthest corner of the library.

"What do you want to know?" Youngjae wasn't ready to tell Jackson anything serious about his best friend; he wanted the older to do that on his own. If Jackson truly wanted to be Mark's friend he would have to try twice as hard as Youngjae had.

"Anything really." The younger sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

"Gee that helps. Okay, Mark was born in America, He's Twainese, he has a younger brother named Joey, his birthday is September 4th, he's an amazing dancer and tricker, he loves to swim and skateboard, he bits his lip a lot when he is nervous, he hates having his ears touched, he prefers quiet and stable over loud and unexpected. He doesn't go out much, but when he does he loves to go to Oak park to just sit and watch the clouds go by." Jackson whole heartedly listened to what the younger said. He really wanted to get closer to Mark, but it would be hard if the other wouldn't speak to him. That still confused him. He understood that Youngjae didn't judge him for stuttering, but the younger couldn't be the only one Mark talked too. "Oh, I'm not." Jackson hadn't realized that he spoke out loud.

"Then who else?" 

"Well, there's these two under class men; Yugeom and his brother. His speech coach Jinyoung. And his own family. If you think he talks a lot when I'm around, you should see him when he talks to Joey." Jackson nodded. He wanted to be like that with Mark. Today was the first time he had talked to the elder, but he took an interest to Mark during their sophomore year when he saw the older sitting in the gym all by himself. Jackson would try his hardest to become Mark's friend, even if it killed him.

-

Mark still couldn't get over Youngjae and Jackson leaving lunch together. They were fighting four hours ago but now they were friends? It didn't make sense, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. A small ball of energy known as BamBam ran into him. "Oh I'm sorry hyung." He nodded at the younger. Bambam was Yugeom'so older brother, but no one could tell by looking at the two. Bam was very small; he's been mistaken as a middle schooler on many occasions, he even had a slim build only adding insult to injury. It never set well with him. "Geomie did invite you to my party right." Mark nodded again, grabbing his bag from his locker. "So you're coming right? I'd be the talk of the whole school if you showed up. All the girls in my class talk about you non-stop. Even Geomie talks about you a lot." Mark smiled slightly. He really didn't want to go, but both his dongsaeng were expecting him and he couldn't say no to them.

"Yeah. I'll. Be. There." Bambam smiled broadly.

"Great! It starts at nine, Saturday, but come early. And bring Youngjae hyung. I've been dying for him to teach me some new moves." Mark chuckled as the younger began to dance. Of course he would bring Youngjae. He wouldn't go anywhere without the blond.

-

"So I shouldn't push him right?" Jackson asked the blond as they walked down the hall.

"Exactly. Mark only talks freely to those he's comfortable with. If he stops talking it's because he's uncomfortable. Don't force him to talk it only makes things worse." The younger had learned that the hard way. When Mark felt pressured he locks up inside. He didn't speak to Youngjae for three days when the blond begged him to read a story in front of their third grade class. Jackson paused for a second, adding this to his list of things he'd have to remember about Mark. Youngjae smiled slightly. He'd never seen Jackson try so hard. Sure, the older always gave things his all, but this seemed different. Youngjae opened his mouth to say something, but another voice rang out.

"Y-Y-Youngjae!" The two males looked over at Mark, who was running down the hall. 

"What is it?" The older stopped in front of the two. 

"I-I-I forgot-t-t that I-I-I have to t-t-take Joey t-t-to his c-c-class. I can't-t-t go to m-m-mother's with y-y-you." The blond smiled. 

"It's fine. Tell Joey I said hi." Mark nodded. He glanced over at Jackson. He was standing awkwardly next to Youngjae. Mark sighed. He didn't like that look at Jackson's face. It didn't suit him at all. 

"D-D-Do y-y-you want to c-c-come?" Mark didn't know why he asked. He really didn't want to be bothered with someone like Jackson. All the talking that the younger did still irritated him. Jackson instantly perked up at the idea.

"Sure. I'll go." Mark looked back at Youngjae and bowed respectfully.

"I-I-I'll b-b-be leaving first-t-t. B-B-Bye."


	8. Chapter 8

The two walked in silence for  a while. Jackson didn't know what to say. How does someone start a conversation with a guy who normally doesn't talk. "Um, can you tell me about Joey." The younger brought up the first thing that came to his mind. He needed to break the awkward silence; he usually talked to much to be stuck in one. 

"He's. My. Brother." Jackson sighed in frustration. Mark was forcing himself to talk . He didn't want this, he wanted Mark to be comfortable around him. When the rounded the corner, Mark spoke up. He didn't want to speak much but he couldn't break his speech enough for this. It hurt to much.

"M-M-My f-f-family doesn't-t-t speak Korean." Jackson nodded slightly. He didn't fully understand that. Why live in a country where you can't communicate? "T-T-They did it-t-t for me." The younger looked up at Mark confused. "No one i-i-in Americ-c-ca could h-h-help. So m-m-my doct-t-tor rec-c-commended someone h-h-here." Jackson still didn't understand, but he didn't pursue the topic. 

"Okay." The younger smiled. "Don't worry though. I'm fluent in English."

-

"Mark! You're back!" A small boy called from the couch. He got up from the spot and ran up to Mark.

"H-H-Hey J-J-Joey." The elder ruffled the younger's hair. 

"Oh! My soobenim," Mark interrupted the excited boy, correcting his pronunciation. 

"Sab-b-bumnim." Joey nodded, continuing.

"My sabumnim wanted to say thanks. I told her that you've been teaching me some stuff  and she says that it really helps. She's proud of me." Mark smiled at his brother. He was also proud of Joey. It took a lot of effort to learn a language. And he was really doing a good job. Joey walked back to the couch to pack his bag. Mark turned to Jackson. 

"He just-t-t started l-l-learning on h-h-his birthd-d-day." Jackson nodded, looking back at the younger. He looked a lot like Mark. "J-J-Joey this i-i-is J-J-Jackson. Jackson gave a gentle wave in the younger's direction.

"Hello." The boy smiled, picking his bag up.

"A-A-Are you r-r-ready?" Mark asked, opening up the front door.

"Yep. Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

Jackson watched the interaction between Mark and his brother. He wanted that. He knew that he shouldn't be comparing himself to Mark's brother, but he couldn't  help it. Ever since his sophomore year, he's had his eye on Mark and now that they were in the same class and working on a project together he could get closer to the younger. He listened to the two talk as they walked down the road. Youngjae wasn't kidding. Mark's voice was comforting. "D-D-Do well." Mark ruffled the younger's hair before giving him a small push. 

"I'll see you later. Bye Jackson." The younger waved at the two as he walked into the small building. Jackson waved back. He thought that Joey was cute and it would be nice to get to know him as well.

-

"So what do you want our report to be on? It has to be  on the evolution of something." Jackson asked, sitting down on the floor of Mark's room. He kept it very simple. The walls were painted light blue with grey trim. The floors were carpeted in a eggshell color. There wasn't much in the space except. A bed, a window seat, a dresser and a bedside stand. It was also very clean. 

"I-I-It can b-b-be what-t-tever. I d-d-don't c-c-care." Mark sat down in the window seat. He held a pen and a notebook. He turned to the window. He honestly didn't know why he asked Jackson to come. He didn't want to talk to him. He would much rather be sitting at Youngjae's listening to his mother sing really bad show tones out of tune. But he had to get this report done sometime in the next week and it would be better to get it done now rather than later.

"Hm, alright. We could do it on the evolution of humans, or mammals or maybe even insects. Or how about communication. From letters to telegram. Or travel. No, I know. The evolution of art." Jackson was on a roll. Spouting off any and every thing he could think of. He just started spewing out words like a volcano. And they didn't stop. Mark had written down the first few things that he heard from the younger, but eventually stopped listening to him. He was getting overwhelmed with all the words and sounds that were coming from Jackson. He had never heard anyone talk so much in his life. Not even Youngjae talked this much, and he could talk up a storm. "What do you think? Are they good? If not we can think of some more things or we could try looking things up on the Internet. Is that a good idea?" Mark shook his head. This was his go-to when he didn't want to talk. Of course Jackson didn't know this and kept his jaw flapping. "What do mean? Do you have any other ideas?" Mark shook his head, harder this time. He really didn't want to talk right now. Jackson crawled over to the window. "Awe c'mon Mark. Talk to me. Say something." Mark had enough of Jackson. He couldn't contain it anymore. He snapped.

"I-I-I can't-t-t! D-D-Do y-y-you have a-a-any idea h-h-how h-h-hard it i-i-is to get one sent-t-tence out? Not-t-t everyone c-c-can b-b-be l-l-like y-y-you and t-t-talk all the t-t-time. W-W-Why don't-t-t y-y-you just shut-t-t up for o-o-once." It had been a long time since Mark had talked like that to anyone. It left him breathless and lightheaded. Jackson stared up at Mark. He didn't think that the elder was capable of something like that. Yet, he had almost expected it. Youngjae had told him not to push the elder to talk, but he really wanted to hear Mark's voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't... I'll just..." The elder shook his head, sighing.

"N-N-No. I'm s-s-sorry. I-I-I shouldn't h-h-have done t-t-that. W-W-Why don't-t-t we just-t-t get back t-t-to work." Mark really hadn't meant to yell at Jackson. He just didn't want to talk as much as he had been that day. He just wanted to be able to sit and listen to someone else rather than talk to them. But Jackson had made that hard. He was the opposite of what he expected. The younger wanted to be talked to as well as be heard. It was the opposite of Youngjae. Though he shouldn't be too surprised. He had already know that Jackson was needy. He had heard that from his speech coach, Jinyoung.

"Um, alright. So ideas of the evolution of things." Jackson doesn't completely understand how the elder could go from super angry to washed out in a matter of two seconds. He didn't like the idea of an angry Mark, yet something about his voice in that moment made him want to listen to the elder more.


	10. Chapter 10

After working for a a few hours Mark ended up sprawled on the floor next to Jackson. The younger talked to him for a long time as well. He didn't as Mark many questions, but he did try to learn more about him. Mark actually liked talking to Jackson, although he wouldn't admit to that out loud. He honestly liked Jackson's English better than his Korean. It sounded a lot smoother. Mark had even asked him to speak only in English from now on, especially when they were at his home. "Okay, Okay. Star. If you could be a star in any constellation, which one would it be?" Mark thought about it for a moment. He honestly didn't have an answer for that. He didn't look at the stars a whole lot. 

"A-A-Aquila. T-T-The Eagle." He looked over at Jackson. He wouldn't admit yet, but he liked having the younger around. It had only been a day but it seemed longer than that. He had learned a lot about Jackson. Much more than he had expected to learn in one day. 

"Oh, that's a good one." Jackson looked over at Mark. Their eyes meet for a brief moment before Mark turned away. His face began to heat up, but he couldn't explain it. He didn't like Jackson that way. Sure he found him attractive, but he didn't know him all that well. He sat up slowly and crossed his arms over his knees. "Hey Mark?" The younger spoke softly. If Mark wasn't sitting so close to him, the elder wouldn't of heard. "Can we be friends?"

-

"Yi-En, are you awake? There's someone here that would like to see you." Mark's mother knocked on his door softly. He sat up in his bed. Who could be here to see him? No one ever came to his house, except Youngjae and Jinyoung. If it was Youngjae, his mother wouldn't have announced it and if it was Jinyoung, he would go to the older himself. So who could it be?

"I'm. Awake." He called back, getting out of bed. He quickly grabbed clothes from the window seat that he laid out yesterday and got dressed. He left his room and walked down the hall. When he went downstairs he was greeted by a black haired boy with a great smile. Jackson. He rolled his eyes, continuing his walk into the kitchen. "M-M-Morning m-m-ma." Mark gave his mother a kiss on the cheek before grabbing his morning apple. He checked the counter clock. It read 4:26. It was a whole hour before he was normally up. He groaned inwardly. This was all because of Jackson. He didn't think the younger would show up to his house, after only one day of them hanging out. He might've given Jackson the title of friends but he still had a long way to go.

"Are you hungry Yi-En? Jackson?" Mark shook his head, taking a bite of his apple. He wished his mother would buy red apples. He really didn't like Granny Smiths. 

"No. I'm fine Mrs. Tuan." Jackson spoke, sitting down on one of the black counter chairs. Mark wanted to scream. What was the younger even doing here? Why had his mother let him in? What did Jackson say to be let in? 

"Oh, alright. Yi-En, Joey and I are going to be out today, we won't be back when you get home." Mark nodded, looking over at Jackson. He was slightly angry at the younger for showing up unannounced at his home. He wanted to know why. "Make sure you clean up before you leave Yi-En. And tell Youngjae that he needs to come around more." His mother wiped the side of his face before exiting the kitchen and heading down the stairs. Mark turned to Jackson once more.

"W-W-What are y-y-you d-d-doing here?" He asked, rolling his half eaten apple at the younger. He wasn't going to eat it but he didn't want to throw it away. Jackson picked it up, taking a small bite.

"I thought we could walk to school together." The younger smiled. His cheeks puffed out slightly. Mark sighed.

"Y-Y-You do kn-n-now that I-I-I walk t-t-to school with Y-Y-Youngjae right-t-t." Jackson nodded.

"Okay. So Youngjae, you, and I will walk together. I don't care much for him but I'll learn to deal." Mark sighed. There was no way of getting rid of him anytime soon. Mark would have to learn to deal with Jackson as well.


	11. Chapter 11

Jackson walked next to Mark. He didn't say anything to the elder when they started. He watched Mark glance at the sky from time to time. His lips moved but no sounds came out. It was almost as if he was taking notes. The younger smiled. In this moment Mark seemed very child-like. It was cute. 

"It-t-t isn't n-n-nice t-t-to stare." Mark's eyes flicked over to the younger for a second. He smiled slightly.

"Sorry." Jackson's face began to heat up. He thought that he had gotten away with looking at Mark. He didn't know that just looking at the elder would make him feel this way. They rounded the corner at the bottom of the hill. Mark instantly brightened up when he spotted Youngjae.

"Y-Y-Youngjae!" He shouted with a wave. The younger turned around, waving back. The two males walked toward the blond. 

"Hey Mark! Jackson." Youngjae smiled at the two. He didn't like the idea of having to walk with Jackson, but since Mark had brought him, he wouldn't complain. Mark threw his arm around the blond's shoulders.

"M-M-Ma says y-y-you need t-t-to c-c-come around m-m-more. J-J-Joey w-w-would like t-t-to see y-y-you as well." Youngjae laughed. It had been a long time since he had been to Mark's house. He had just been super busy lately, but he would have to go see the Tuan's very soon.

"Well tell her that I'll see her soon. I miss her." Mark nodded, looking back at Jackson. He always went silent when Youngjae was around him. Mark smiled at him. It was kinda funny and he liked it. Sorta. He liked that the younger wasn't talking as much, but he didn't like that he wasn't talking at all. It didn't suit him. Silence didn't suit people like Jackson.

"O-O-Oh!" Mark motioned for Jackson to walk beside him. "B-B-BamBam is h-h-having a party o-o-on Sat-t-turday and h-h-he invited u-u-us to go." Youngjae looked down up the elder. 

"Are you up for that? I know how you can get at social gatherings." Mark nodded slowly. He could do it if Youngjae was around. And he could also get help from Jackson if need be.

"S-S-Sure. Y-Y-You t-t-two can help m-m-me if t-t-things g-g-get out of h-h-hand." Mark looked over at Jackson. The younger smiled slightly at Mark's words. He wasn't just looking to Youngjae for support now. He was also looking to Jackson. Mark chuckled softly. He was glad that Jackson was smiling and happy. It looked better on him than sadness and silence. "S-S-So? D-D-Do you g-g-guys want t-t-to go?" The two males nodded in response. They were both happy to see Mark happy, regardless of the hate they felt toward each other.

-

Mark quickly adjusted to Jackson. Since their talk Mark didn't feel the need to stay as silent as he would have liked. He still had a problem with over talking but he thought he could work on it. 

"So, when you have to go with Youngjae to the gym can I come? I kinda want to see you dance." The younger asked, sitting down next to Mark. Why would Jackson want to see him dance? He thought the younger didn't even know he could dance. He shrugged. He didn't see a problem with it. 

"G-G-Go ahead." Mark leaned back in his seat, watching all the other students pile into the class. He wondered if he could do any good with Jackson watching him. He didn't think it would be too bad, yet he felt nervous for some reason. He had never had someone ask to watch him dance before. People normally would just show up unannounced and watch him. And by people he meant Youngjae. He sighed. He couldn't embarrass himself.

-

"Hello everyone. Sorry that we couldn't meet yesterday, things were very hectic. But we're here today and I would like to introduce you to a good friend of mine. He'll be learning from us and he'll teach us a thing or two. This is my friend Mark." The younger pushed Mark forward a little bit. Mark would've corrected the younger if he wasn't so nervous. He waved awkwardly at the three people standing in front of him. "Okay, this is Hanwoo." Youngjae pointed at the small boy in the center. He was skinny and short. "That's Lee Ha." He pointed at the boy on Hanwoo's left. Why were all these guys so skinny? "And Jaebum hyung." That name sounded familiar. Mark glanced up at Jaebum. He instantly knew why he knew that name. Jaebum was Jinyoung's boyfriend. The older had seen Jaebum around a few times when he had his speech class.

"Hey." Mark moved back slightly toward Jackson. He didn't like the feeling of being watched by people he didn't know well. Youngjae took notice of how close Mark had gotten to Jackson. He groaned inwardly. He hoped he wouldn't be seeing much of that. The younger didn't want Mark to lean on Jackson for support. That was what he was there for. Mark couldn't have gotten that close to Jackson in a day, right?

"Alright as always with new members, Mark will show us some moves." The younger turned to Mark. He smiled slightly at him. "Just do your best." Mark nodded as Youngjae put some music on. He sighed, moving away from Jackson and toward the center of the gym floor. He could do this. He just had to ignore all the eyes watching him. He had this in the bag.

-

His body just followed the music. He didn't think much about where to move or how. He made turn after turn, shuffle after shuffle with the beat. He could feel the bass about to drop and he decided to show off his tricks. He flipped through the air as the music made a dip. He landed when it picked back up. There were shocked gasps among the onlookers but he didn't pay them any mind. He just keep moving until the music faded out. Youngjae ran up to him and engulfed him in a hug. 

"Good job Mark!" The older rolled his eyes.

"T-T-That's h-h-hyung to y-y-you." He ruffled the younger's hair before pushing him away. The other three members stared at hI'm in awe. They had never seen anything like that before. None of them could flip like that. 

"Whoa. How did you do that?" Hanwoo ran up to him, eyes wide with excitement. Mark shrugged. He didn't know how he learned how to flip. He just saw it on television and he decided that he wanted to learn. He could only flip the one way and he sometimes got scared that he wasn't going to stick the landing. He had many close calls and some not so close calls, plus many hospital visitstay for sprained ankles and wrists. He had to be very careful or he wouldn't be able to do it anymore. Jaebum had slid up next to Jackson who was just staring at Mark with admiration. 

"Someone's falling hard for his hyung." Jaebum elbowed the younger. "I can see why though. He has good qualities. I heard from Jinyoung that he's a total sweetheart. He might not look like it but I know." Jackson looked over at the older, rolling his eyes. There was no way that Jackson was falling for Mark. He was simply impressed with him. He didn't know that he could move like that. Yeah, Jackson decided that was what he would tell himself. But that was never that case.


	12. Chapter 12

Jaebum kept his eye on Jackson as they practiced. He had heard from Jinyoung that Mark wasn't easy to get to know and talk to. But Mark was close with Jackson. He couldn't figure out why. Jaebum knew that Mark spent most of his time with Youngjae and he usually only talked to the younger. But now Mark was moving toward Jackson a lot more. He was confused. Jaebum watched the two interact with each. Mark didn't speak much with the younger but he smiled a lot and listened to whatever he had to say. 

"Alright, guys we are done for today. You did well." Youngjae cut the music and bowed toward everyone. The others bowed to him. Youngjae walked over to Jaebum with a smile on his face. "How did you think he did?" He asked.

"He's good. The flips are cool. I wouldn't have been able to do it." Jaebum smiled slightly. He really did think that Mark's tricks were cool. He looked over at the Mark, who was sitting with Jackson. The two were eating crackers that Jackson had brought. Youngjae's eyes followed where Jaebum was looking. He groaned at the sight. The older looked back at the blond. "What's that about Youngjae-ah? Jealous?" 

"No, that's not it." The younger laughed nervously. This is what he wanted. He wanted Mark to be open. He wanted Mark to have more friends. He just wished that it wasn't this fast and with Jackson. He had a bad falling out with the older, he didn't want Mark to be put in a situation like that. "It's just weird. Seeing him like that." Youngjae said, truthfully. And it was. Mark never warmed up to people as easily as he had with Jackson. Youngjae thought he would give the older a hard time. But that wasn't happening. Jaebum patted the younger on the back.

"It's a good thing isn't it? Jinyoung says it's better for him to open up. I think you should be happy that he's doing something like this." Youngjae sighed. Jaebum was right. Mark was better this way, but something still didn't feel right to him. He couldn't tell if it was jealously or just Jackson in general. He really wanted to believe in the latter, but he knew better. 

-

 


	13. Chapter 13

After the next few days Jackson and Mark's relationship grew and so did Youngjae's jealously. the two older boys spent a lot of time together. The younger told himself that it was only becasue they had a report to do, but he knew it was something more. Although Mark still didn't talk to Jackson as much as the older would like, the younger still didn't like it. Mark was still leaning on him for support which he liked and he only spoke comfortably around him.  Youngjae couldn't help but feel jealous.

Saturday rolled around and the younger had had enough. He was angry and beyond jealous. He honestly didn't even know why. Mark could have other friends. Youngjae sure did and Mark had never felt like this, at least he never told the younger. Mark had invited Youngjae over to his house early that morning. He wanted to decline saying he had other plans and he would see the older at the party but he couldn't do that. Mark was still his best friend. 

He entered the Tuan home without a single knock. He was the only one the could do that, seeing as how Youngjae almost lived there. He used to be over everyday for some reason or another. "Mother, It's me." Youngjae had to use some of the English he knew to speak. It was hard for him, but he would try anything for Mark.

"Ah, Youngjae! How are you?" Mark's mother walked around the corner from the kitchen. She engulfed the blond in a hug, squeezing tightly.

"I'm fine, thank you." He hugged her back. He hadn't seen the Tuan'so for a while now, but it seemed like he was there just yesterday. They pulled away from each other. Mark's mother looked over Youngjae shortly. She smiled at him.

"Mark's upstairs dear. In his room." She pointed in the direction for clarification, just in case. Youngjae picked up most of his English from class and Mark, but he still didn't understand most things. Youngjae nodded at her and made his way to Mark's room.

-

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why does the Korean language have to be so hard?" Youngjae had walked in on Mark teaching Joey Korean.

"I-I-It's n-n-not that hard J-J-Joey. Y-y-you just h-h-have to rem-m-member the t-t-titles. Isn't t-t-that what y-y-your teacher said?" The younger nodded, flipping through pages in a text book. Youngjae hadn't quite caught all the things that were said, but he could tell that Joey was frustrated. 

"Yeah, she said that. But I still see why. How come Koreans have to use the titles but we don't?" Youngjae sat down next to Mark. He was curious to learn more English almost like Joey wanted to learn Korean. 

"W-W-We do. It's l-l-like when w-w-we use Mr. and M-M-Mrs. Or ma'ma and s-s-sir. It's a p-p-polite thing J-J-Joey. A-A-Actually it's a f-f-formal thing." Mark turned to look at Youngjae. The younger was staring intently at him. He was staying to figure out what the older was saying with his lacking vocabulary. He picked words like polite and formal but not much else. Mark translated the information to him so he could understand better. Youngjae nodded. He could understand why Joey wasn't getting has the same problem with English. Learning another language is hard. "I-I-I think w-w-we should st-t-top there. We'll l-l-learn more t-t-tomorrow." Joey nodded, grabbing his things.

"Thanks Mark. See ya Youngjae." He bowed respectfully to the elder. He was doing great with learning gestures, which always good. 

"Bye." The blond waved at Joey'so retreating back. He liked Mark'shook younger brother. He wished that there wasn't a language barrier between them.

-

Mark had invited Jackson to BamBam's party. He let him know that Youngjae and himself were arriving half an hour early just like Bam had said to do. Mark hadn't walked outside with Youngjae and BamBam and he stayed with Yugeom inside. He wanted to wait for Jackson. He still couldn't understand why he was warming up to the younger. He hadn't even meant to get this close to Jackson so early, but he had a draw to the younger that Mark couldn't comprehend.

"Are you actually going to hang out in the crowds, hyung?" Mark nodded slightly. He was nervous about it but he was going to try to migrate within the others. "I'm sure you can do it with Youngjae around." The older nodded again. Yeah, Youngjae would always be there to help him out when he needed it.

"Hey! Come out back. The party's about to start!" Bambam yelled through the screen door. The younger smiled. 

"Alright, we're coming." He turned to the older. "Let's go out there before he drags us out." Mark nodded, taking a glance back at the front door they were standing near. Where was Jackson?

-

Mark wandered aimlessly around the backyard of BamBam and Yugeom's home. He didn't know many people here and he had lost track of Youngjae. The younger was probably chatting it up with some of his friends. The elder sighed, standing by the table of snacks and drinks. He didn't know how BamBam did it; he had bought alcohol and spike the punch. Everyone certainly knew about it and they weren't even the slightest bit worried about it. Mark silently chewed on some chips from the bowl at the end of the table. He was definitely not comfortable here. He was regretting his decision of coming. 

"Never thought you'd be a party person hyung." Mark turned to the sound of the voice. It was Jinyoung. He waved at his speech coach and smiled. He didn't think the younger would come to a party either. Jinyoung preferred to stay home and read or spend a quiet night out with his boyfriend, Jaebum.

"I'm. Not. Just. Thought. I. Would. Give. It. A. Try." The younger sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"What have I told you about talking like that to me? You need to relax." Mark chuckled softly. He had almost forgotten how Jinyoung could be. Almost. The younger was sweet most of the time but when he was irked it was a different story.

"S-S-Sorry J-J-Jinyoung-ah." Jinyoung smiled at him. This is the way the younger liked to see Mark. Open and acting unafraid. He had worked to hard for Mark to close himself off. Mark noticed that Jinyoung's side was empty. "Where's Jaebum-ah?" Jinyoung frowned at the question. Maybe he shouldn't have asked."

"He didn't want to come. He said had other things to do. It's fine though. I don't plan on staying too long. I just wanted to say hey to BamBam. Tell him he's improving a lot." Mark smiled slightly. He always forgot that Kunpimook wasn't from Korea; the younger's Korean was good enough that it was hard to tell if he was a foreigner. "Where's Youngjae? Aren't you guys attached at the hip?" Mark shook his head chuckling.

"H-H-He's s-s-somewhere. I h-h-haven't-t-t seen h-h-him since w-w-we got-t-t here. But-t-t I'm f-f-fine." Jinyoung smiled at him. He really wanted to hang around and see how he would do without Youngjae around, but he wanted to get going so he could see Jaebum. 

"Alright. Well I have to get going. I'll see you at our next sesion, yeah?" Marked waved at Jinyoung as he walked throuhg the crowds of people. Jinyoung was a very sweet dongsaeng, He was glad that the younger was helping him with his speech. He continued to stuff his face with chips until he heard a loud comotion. What was going on?


	14. Chapter 14

Mark walked to the sound of the loud voices. Everyone was standing around in a circle. He pushed his way to the fron to see two people standing in the center of the wide circle. Mark looked at both of the poeple. It was Jackson and Youngaje. When did Jackson get here? What was going on?

"Again with this? And here of all places? Are you drunk?" Youngjae stood in front of Jackson with his arms crossed. The younger of the two didn't look too happy about what was happening. He hadn't planned on this kind of interaction. He was just here because of Mark. Even though he hadn't been around the older much since his other friends wanted to talk and hang out. He had wanted to find Mark but someone, meaning Jackson, had thrown a drink on him, staining his grey sweater. He didn't even know why until the older had started talking about Minah. He had hoped the topic had been dropped since he had helped Jackson get closer to Mark, but it hadn't and now they were here surrounded by their peers. The blond sighed,  wishing that Jackson could actually his age and get over something that wasn't even the younger's fault. 

"What's it to you if I am? I'm not here for that. I want to know why you let Minah do that to herself." Jackson might've had a few drinks from the bar that BamBam had set up. He didn't feel too bad but he wasn't all there either. "You killed her. You just left her behind and didn't bother checking up on her after. Why, Choi Youngjae? Why?" The crowd around them exploded in boos directed at the younger. He rolled his eyes. 

"Jackson, I wasn't even in the city when she died. I wasn't able to stop her! Stop blaming me for something I can't control!"

"That's bull!" Jackson lunged forward, his fist clench aiming for Youngjae's face. His clenched fist connected with skin. When he recoiled he noticed it wasn't Youngjae he hit, but Mark. His eyes widened when he saw the older's face. Blood trickled down from his nose and onto his mouth. He spit the blood out. 

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Mark didn't know exactly why he jumped in. He didn't want Youngjae to get hurt but he didn't want Jackson to start something he couldn't finish. Youngjae couldn't fend for himself if he really had to. And he was sure that Jackson could as well. He also guessed that he didn't want BamBam's party to be ruined. "Don't. Do. This. Here." Mark turned to all the party goers. He spoke out as loud as he could. "Party! On!" The music cued itself again and the crowd dispersed, going back to the smaller groups of people that were dancing together before the 'fight' broke out. Mark turned to the blond. "W-W-We a-a-are going b-b-back t-t-to my house. Y-Y-You two have t-t-to talk this o-o-out." The older glared back at Jackson. "Come. On. We. Are. Leaving." He didn't bother looking back as he was walked through the house. Those two were a pain in his ass.


	15. Chapter 15

Mark sat in front of the two younger boys, a correction wrap around his nose. He was not pleased with the two at all. All he wanted was to spend some time with his dongsaengs and try to become a normal teen in society. But he couldn't do that with his best friend fighting someone he hoped could be a good friend. 

"E-E-Explain. Y-Y-Youngjae you first-t-t." The older nodded in the blond's direction. He thought it would be bestablished to get an answer from someone more sober than Jackson. 

"What? Why my favorite sweater is ruined? Why you decided to be a hero? Or why you want to be friends with a complete lunatic!?" The younger couldn't hold in his frustration any longer. Mark was his best friend and the only person that could ever understand his hardships. He had never trusted anyone else with his information and he never would. But he wouldn't stand for his best friend hanging around with someone like Jackson. Sure, he had wanted Mark to have more friends and open up. He wanted Mark to get over his insecurity. But with Jackson like this he thought it would be better if Mark stayed by his side and his side only. 

"T-T-The lunat-t-tic part w-w-would be n-n-nice." Mark still didn't fully understand why the two hated each other. It didn't make sense. 

"He's made over something that I couldn't control. I never told you about Minah, did I?" Mark shook his head in response.

"She was like a sister. You left her for dead." Mark shushed him. He wanted to hear from Youngjae first.

"She was a girl that a dated in secret. Mom didn't approve of her but I liked her so much that I didn't want to give up on being with her. But things got harder when you're stutter starting getting worse." Mark remembered that. He had a problem forming a whole sentence and refused to speak to anyone even his own family. He had asked for help from Youngjae. "I started spending so much time with you, trying to help you that she got super jealous. I kept trying to tell her that she didn't have to worry about stupid things like that. I told her that you were just my friend and you needed my help. She never believed me and I couldn't deal with her jealously anymore. I tried to make it work, I really did but it wasn't working out. We broke up. And you know that trip we took to Chonju." Mark nodded, trying to keep up with all the information he was getting. "Well it was during that trip that she killed herself. I heard from one of her friends that she got depressed after our breakup and that's what caused her to commit suicide. I didn't mean for it all to happen. I didn't know she would do something like tha. I wouldn't have evered tried to make someone do that to themselves. I hated myself for what had happened. I still do." Youngjae looked over at Jackson before looking at Mark. "But some people don't understand that." Mark looked at Jackson. The younger was looking down at the floor so Mark couldn't see his face. 

"J-J-Jackson a-a-are you okay?" The younger lifted his head. Tears were streaming from his eyes and his face was red. He turned to the blond.

"I never knew that. I just thought you broke up without a second thought. That's what she made it out to be. I never knew. Youngjae, I'm sorry. I pinned Minah's death on you for so long. It must've been hard on you." The younger of two nodded. Youngjae spent most of his nights thinking about Minah and even Jackson at times. At first he didn't know what he had done to make Jackson hate him and then he realized what it was over. It hurt him a lot. He had never had someone hate him like Jackson had and maybe that's the reason he hated him back. Youngjae liked everyone and he was friends with everyone, so it was weird thinking that someone as happy and cheery as Jackson didn't want to be his friend or even like him the slightest. "Can you forgive me." It was the first time Youngaje had ever heard Jackson sound so sincere. He couldn't believe it. He thought the older would never understand and end up hating him for the rest of their lives. He nodded quickly.

"Yes. I forgive you." Mark smiled at the two. He still knew that there were things that would never be worked out between the two but he also knew that things were looking up for their friendships.


	16. Epilogue

It's been months since the incident and since Jackson became Mark's friend. He had gotten used to the younger. He could talk freely with him now and didn't feel the need to stop talking. Jackson still talked more than he did but that's what he liked most about the younger. There were still problems when Jackson would push his buttons and Youngjae would have to step in before Mark could explode but they were working on it. Even Youngjae and Jackson were working things out. Jackson still held things back when it came to opening to Youngjae. And Youngjae still got jealous, just a bit, if Mark wanted to spend time with Jackson and not him. But those things were easily over looked. Mark was still working on getting over his stutter. Jinyoung had encouraged him to talk to people he didn't usually interact with. He only responded with a 'if I have too' and picked the only other person he could think of. Jaebum. The two began talking bit by bit and they had learned more about each other. Mark still didn't think he would talk to Jaebum much, seeing as how the younger didn't talk much either. Again, another thing he liked about certain people. He would rather be friends with someone who didn't talk so he wouldn't have to worry about filling in the conversation. Things had just happened for a reason he supposed. If he hadn't had the stutter, he probably wouldn't have meet Youngjae or Jinyoung or even Jaebum for that matter. He wouldn't have moved to Korea to get help. He wouldn't have been stuck in awkward situations like the party. He wouldn't have meet Jackson. He would still be worrying about Joey and how much help he needed. Sometimes he didn't like all the things that happened but that was life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please hold your eggs! Save them for some tasty omelettes. 
> 
> I would like to thank you for reading this hot mess and no this is not the end.  
> There is a sequel coming, please be patient and make some omelettes. :)
> 
> Xx KYE xX


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